Bats roar to life against Tribe in series finale

CHICAGO -- The White Sox offense accomplished more in the first inning of a 6-2 victory over the Indians Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field then they had in the previous two games combined.

That task wasn't a particularly tough one, considering the White Sox had been shut out in each of the past two contests, and sitting on a 23-inning scoreless streak until they scored three in the opening frame off of Danny Salazar.

CHICAGO -- The White Sox offense accomplished more in the first inning of a 6-2 victory over the Indians Sunday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field then they had in the previous two games combined.

That task wasn't a particularly tough one, considering the White Sox had been shut out in each of the past two contests, and sitting on a 23-inning scoreless streak until they scored three in the opening frame off of Danny Salazar.

"Like I said, everything is a process. Whether you're an experienced veteran, it doesn't matter," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "They made a nice adjustment today. You could see that Salazar after that inning kind of turned it up a notch, but the guys just kept battling and we were able to grind out a few more runs."

"It was a lot of energy," said White Sox shortstop and leadoff hitter Tim Anderson, of the team's immediate outburst. "It's easy for a team to feed off that once you get off to a great start."

Anderson opened the first with a double off the left-field wall on a 0-2 changeup from Salazar. He had been the only White Sox baserunner to reach second in the series' first two games.

Tyler Saladino followed with a single to left, and Melky Cabrera ended the scoreless drought with a sacrifice fly. Jose Abreu's single to right turned into a run when Abraham Almonte misplayed it into a two-base error, and Leury Garcia's single completed the first-inning rally.

"Everybody knows how good these Cleveland pitchers are, especially the first two games with [Carlos] Carrasco and [Corey] Kluber," Abreu said through interpreter Billy Russo, after Abreu knocked out two hits and reached base four times. "Our offense was silent. But today we had more life against Salazar. We know him, and we did our job."

"I was a little bit wild," Salazar said. "And didn't have that great a feeling for my changeup the whole game."

Adding on runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth provided all the support Derek Holland would need, as the White Sox improved to 8-9 on the season and a respectable 3-3 against the defending American League champions. The team has fostered a 7-7 record within its division without much offensive production from regulars, aside from Avisail Garcia and Matt Davidson.

Carrasco, Kluber and even Masahiro Tanaka had something to do with the team not scoring since April 19 against the Yankees. But they also believe this offense has definite potential to be stronger.

"When you feel good with your offense, it doesn't matter how good the opponent is," Abreu said. "When you are not good with your offense or not feeling in rhythm, it's tough if you are facing a good starting pitcher or a team or whatever.

"We are not in the best position right now with our offense. But we are trying to grind and trying to work hard every day to find our rhythm and to produce, because we all know that we can produce in a big way."